Lawsuit Accuses Hip Implant Maker of Putting Sales Before Safety

Posted By
Pintas & Mullins Law Firm

Patients implanted with metal-on-metal hip implants are suffering serious
health consequences from the devices and accusing manufacturers of putting
marketing before patient safety. Thousands of patients have filed lawsuits
against these companies, including Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy
Orthopaedics, which recently recalled many of its all-metal devices.
Hip implant lawyers at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm detail one of the most recent cases against DePuy
currently in trial.

This latest trial against DePuy is considered a bellwether trial, which
are used in large-scale litigation (there are about 6,500 hip cases pending
against DePuy). In a bellwether trial, a judge selects a few cases to
represent the majority of plaintiffs. These cases are then fully prepared
on both sides and tried before a jury. They are meant to be representative
of issues that arise in most injured peoples’ cases, to give everyone
an indication of what is likely to happen in future trials.

For the DePuy cases, one of the plaintiffs selected as a bellwether is
coming to a close in Dallas. Over the past eight weeks, the client has
accused DePuy of prioritizing marketing and sales over patient safety
in its Pinnacle line of all-metal hip implants. She is also accusing the
company of negligence, designing a defective product, failing to warn,
and violating laws related to marketing.

DePuy stopped selling the Pinnacle implant in 2013 once it became clear
the devices were failing in extremely high rates. DePuy sold two other
metal-on-metal hip systems, the ASR Hip Resurfacing System and ASR XL
Acetabular System, which were both recalled in 2010.

This is the first case to go to trial over the Pinnacle device, and the
jury is currently in deliberation. We will update this blog once they
make a decision. The plaintiff is asking the jury to recognize that DePuy
hid the safety risks of all-metal devices,
failed to warn doctors and patients that the implants could shed metal ions into the bloodstream, infecting
the surrounding tissue and causing metal toxicity in some patients.

More Metal More Problems

Regarding its marketing, DePuy is accused of pushing the metal-on-metal
devices specifically to younger, more active patients, claiming the all-metal
devices would provide better mobility and would last longer. The opposite
turned out to be true, with several studies pointing to early failure
rates much higher than traditional hip implants.

Medical experts estimate that at least 10% of Pinnacle hips will fail within
two to three years of implantation. When hip implants fail, doctors must
go in for a revision surgery, which are often expensive and painful. Since
such a high number of all-metal hips failed, there is much evidence that
the implants were causing even more destruction in the body than they realized.

Patients implanted with defective metal-on-metal were showing signs of
severe tissue death, ruptured tendons, fluid pockets, and other serious
health effects. Additionally, as mentioned above, the metal implants release
chromium and cobalt particles into the body, causing inflammation, pain,
and difficulty moving. Long term effects of metal poisoning include brain
and heart problems.

Several other companies make metal-on-metal hip implants and are also
facing massive litigation. Among them include: Biomet, Zimmer, Smith &
Nephew, and Stryker. Many of these companies have recalled their all-metal
hip devices, including Stryker’s Rejuvenate and ABG II implants.

Our team of
metal-on-metal hip implant lawyers is currently accepting cases from implant recipients nationwide. Even
if you have not suffered any serious injuries, you may still be eligible
to receive compensation from a settlement with the manufacturer, as it
is likely that you will need a revision surgery in the near future. If
you have any questions about these lawsuits or your particular experience
with a defective hip implant, contact our firm immediately. Our case reviews
are always completely free, and we take clients from all 50 states.

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